Initial Proposal DONE

 I know this is a running document but wanted to post my initial proposal which I finished writing. This is subject to change but these are my preliminary thoughts about how to approach this project!


Subject

I am choosing to focus on the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. The library was built between 1916 and 1920 and it cost $615,000 to build. Albert Kahn worked in collaboration with William Warner Bishop to design the building. Bishop was the first head librarian of the building. There was a bit of a blip in the construction as in 1915 the regents declared the old library to be unsafe because of the wood used, so it was redesigned and built entirely of reinforced concrete. The new building was built directly on top of the old one and they reused two fireproof book stacks. The building is roughly modeled on the Harvard and UC libraries. The first floor entrance is decorated with a Pompeian motif that features different animals. These motifs and the 2nd floor reading room have not changed significantly. The two large frescoes in that space are “The Arts of Peace” and “The Arts of War,” which were painted by Gari Melchers. They were painted in 1893 for the Manufactures Building at the World’s Fair in Chicago. 


Harlan Hatcher was 8th president of the University. He was a former dean and English professor at Ohio State University. During his tenure the acquisition and development of North Campus began and the Flint and Dearborn campuses were opened. During his time as president there was also controversy over the firing of two faculty members during the McCarthy era. He also is known for being president during the rise of student activism. 


Goals

My goal for this project is to make the space more accessible and easy to navigate for students. There are so many resources at Hatcher that are completely unknown to students for the sole reason that they are hard to find and not many students venture into the unknown depths of the library. For example, the special collections section that houses thousands of curated documents collected by the university is very scarcely known to the wider student population even though it is open to all Michigan students. I myself would not have known about this resource had I not been brought there by a couple of my classes. 


After speaking with a couple librarians, I learned about their struggles navigating the building as well as the issues they encounter students having. One librarian stated that it is extremely common for students to ask how to navigate between the North and South sides of the building which are very conflicting, where you can only get to the North side from floor 2 of the South side, etc. She also stated students find it very difficult to find the basement book stacks on the North side of the building which can only be reached by a small spiral staircase in the back of the room. It is also hard to find the special collections section which can only be accessed by the South side elevators. 

In terms of unknown resources that librarians would wish more students knew about, one librarian expressed that the ScholarSpace is an incredible resource for students on campus. If any students have projects they are working on that they need guidance and support for completing, whether it be creative or academic, the ScholarSpace guides students through that process. 


Overall, I hope to clear up the confusion between the Hatcher North and Hatcher South as well as make sure to highlight some special resources and great study spots in the building that seem almost undiscovered by students as a whole. 


Importance

I think it is extremely important for students to be aware of the resources available to them during their time here. It can be very overwhelming trying to navigate that as well as the new physical space they are in. I think by tackling the wayfinding system at Hatcher I will be able to help this problem and expose students to all that is around them the second they set foot in the building for the first time. However, there is a lot of ground to cover so I will need to prioritize which aspects of the building I will focus on. I think it is important to make students feel comfortable in on-campus spaces and I hope to be able to help everyone who interacts with this building.


How

I plan to create a visual language based around existing, historical motifs original to the building, for example the Pompeiian motifs as well the frescoes in the reading room. I want to play off elements in these paintings to use for my visual identity system. I plan to focus on demarcating the North and South sides of the building and make it extremely clear how to access both. I also want my system to highlight different study spaces and resources available to students. I am hoping to engage even more with the students, building staff, and librarians who continually use the space in order to learn about their biggest pain points and difficulties navigating the building. 


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